PUNE: The Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) here has initiated deportation procedure against Cameroon national Zomo Onguene Yannick, who had been allegedly cheating foreign students by providing' them admissions in city colleges on the basis of forged documents of University of Pune (UoP).

Bhanupratap Barge, senior police inspector, FRO,

said the office had initiated an inquiry against Yannick after receiving complaints that he had allegedly duped nearly 10 foreign students to the tune of Rs 40,000 each on the pretext of giving them admissions in city colleges.

Barge said, "Yannick was even running a website, www.sconz.org, to lure foreigners and that he was overstaying in the city as his student visa had expired in 2008. The FRO took Yannick into custody from his house at Magarpatta city. Before shifting to Magarpatta city, Yannick had been staying in Sangvi and Bopodi areas."

Explaining Yannick's modus operandi, Barge said, "Ya

nnick used to send letters on forged letterheads of the UoP to foreign students, offering them provisional admission in city colleges. A letter from UoP allows foreign students to obtain a three-month student visa from the Indian consulate."

"The students after reaching Pune, would obtain admission in colleges of their choice on the basis of the forged UoP letter". The system worked to the advantage of the students as there is no mechanism in place at colleges to cross check admissions sought in such a manner.

After the incident came to light, deputy commissioner of police (special branch) Ravindra Sengaonkar "attached" Yannick to the FRO on May 16. Sengaonkar's order, issued under the Foreigners Act vide para 11 (2), says that Yannick will not leave the FRO till he is deported to Cameroon as he fears that the foreigner may go underground or indulge in undesirable activities detrimental to the national security. Non-compliance of the order is punishable under section 14 of the Act.

In the meanwhile, flat owner Parshuram Bhiku Magar (50) of Magarpatta city, who had rented out his flat to Yannick without informing the police and had been arrested by the Hadapsar police, was released by the Pune Cantonment court.

Speaking to TOI, sub-inspector Sunil Shelke of the Hadapsar police station, who is investigating the case filed against Magar, said, "Magar had rented the 2BHK flat for Rs 10,500 and had taken a deposit of Rs 40,000 from Yannick". Yannick had been staying in the flat for the last one year, he added.